Doctor, My Eyes...
Summary: Hoshi observes a strange interaction between Subcommander T'Pol and Commander Tucker in preparation for Starfleet's first contact with a pre-Warp civilization. Scene addition to Civilization.
Author's Note: I stumbled upon a group of stories from spring 2007. You may have seen this one at some time in the past...
"T'Pol," Hoshi heard Commander Tucker say as he gestured over his ear. She turned just in time to see the Subcommander move the hair in her wig to cover the easily visible pointed ear. As soon as T'Pol adjusted her costume, she again looked away from the shuttle's other occupants.
Hoshi bit back a smile as she watched the two pretend there wasn't any tension in the air. The only reason T'Pol's ear peeked out from underneath her wig was Commander Tucker had freed it moments before entering the shuttle.
Hoshi had been running through their checklist and reviewing the translators when T'Pol arrived on the gangway. She could not quite make out what the Vulcan was saying under her breath, but it wasn't English. Although Hoshi was certain T'Pol would deny experiencing emotion, it took little effort to recognize she was not happy Captain Archer ignored her advice and decided to infiltrate one of the cities. To add insult to injury, he even ordered her to come along.
Commander Tucker turned away from his pre-flight inspection of the shuttle to look at T'Pol when she stopped. Hoshi noticed something didn't look right with T'Pol, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.
Apparently the problem had been with T'Pol's wig as she moved her hands up to her new "hair". Hoshi wondered if T'Pol had ever let her hair grow that long. Based on T'Pol's movements and facial expressions, Hoshi was fairly certain not. The Commander chuckled at T'Pol's predicament and said, "here, let me," as he moved up to, what Hoshi clearly assumed, was a frustrated T'Pol.
"I am capable of doing this myself, Commander," T'Pol replied in a firm voice that sounded a bit forced.
In response, Commander Tucker did something that nearly made Hoshi gasp. He reached up and wrapped his fingers around T'Pol's wrists and said, "T'Pol, it'll be faster if I fix it," then flashed his famous grin.
As far as she was aware, Vulcans never let Humans touch them. Not only did T'Pol not pull back, she seemed to relax and dropped her arms before nodding.
Apparently "the grin" worked on Vulcan females as well as it did on Human ones.
The Commander chuckled again and moved in far closer than Hoshi thought the situation required. He reached up with both hands to adjust T'Pol's wig. Since they were mere centimeters apart, Commander Tucker's neck bent so he looked down onto T'Pol's face. Similarly, T'Pol's neck bent so that she looked up at the Commander's face.
Hoshi did have to admit that once the Commander adjusted T'Pol's wig, she looked much better. Hoshi imagined T'Pol looked something like an elfin princess in the fairy tales she read as a child.
Apparently the Commander felt the same way as he stood staring into T'Pol's eyes for a few moments. Whatever he saw there seemed to leave him enthralled.
Hoshi watched as he reached up and gently brushed aside the hair on T'Pol's left side to expose one of her ears. Hoshi barely stifled a grin when T'Pol simply closed her eyes as the Commander's fingers moved along the shell of her ear while he moved the hair away.
Hoshi swore T'Pol's body relaxed and leaned into his touch.
Captain Archer made a noise inside the shuttle that shook the two out of their trance. Before Hoshi could look away, T'Pol caught her eyes. Hoshi was certain T'Pol knew she had spied the encounter.
After that Commander Tucker and Subcommander T'Pol behaved as if the other didn't exist while they loaded and boarded the shuttle. T'Pol seemed determined to put as much physical distance between her and Commander Tucker as possible. If T'Pol could have backed any farther into the rear of the shuttle, Hoshi was sure she would have.
In fact, the only acknowledgment that either was aware of the other was the Commander's brief motion to T'Pol making sure she covered her ear.
Hoshi sighed and moved her attention back to the translators. She had to focus on the mission and not... whatever was going on between the two officers. She sort of wished she had read T'Pol's message from the Vulcans. After the Commander read it something seemed to change between the two and she knew he'd been in T'Pol's quarters at least twice.
Whatever was in that message seemed to have somehow broken the ice between the two.
The End